An early advocate of international mission, Huie used sabbaticals to teach at Trinity Theological College in Accra, Ghana, and Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Seoul, Korea. Lecturing and preaching invitations also took him to Japan, Taiwan and Russia. His 26 trips taking students to Jamaica led to The Alternative Context experience (now called Explorations) at Columbia Theological Seminary, in which future ministers are exposed to the church in multiple cultures. An avid traveler for career or vacation, he visited all 50 states and every continent excepting Antarctica.

• Columbia Theological Seminary held its annual commencement exercises May 16 at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Ga. This year, 63 degrees were awarded in six graduate degree programs.

• The Center for Lifelong Learning will offer once again two sessions of the popular “Come to the Waters” seminar. The weekday course will take place August 2-4, and the weekend course August 14-15, on the Decatur, GA campus.

“Come to the Waters” promises leaders of Presbyterian Women Circles and church school study groups alike nine lessons exploring key references to water in our Scriptures. The rich imagery of water throughout the Bible helps us understand and articulate our faith. Just as water nourishes our bodies, so the scriptures on water nourish our souls. Together, we will explore some of the Bible’s 800 references to water.

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary – Louisville, Ky.

• The Rev. Edwin David Aponte, dean and chief executive administrator of Palmer Theological Seminary at Eastern University in St. Davids, Penn., has been named executive director of the Louisville Institute at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Aponte, who also serves as professor of religion and culture at Eastern University, will begin work at the Louisville Institute on July 1, 2015.

Funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. since 1990, the Institute’s mission is to enhance the vitality of American Christianity and encourage the revitalization of religious institutions by bringing together those who study religious life with those who lead faith communities. The Institute advances this work through grants programs that enable academic scholars and religious leaders to study pressing challenges and consultations that foster collaboration among researchers, theological educators and religious leaders.

Aponte’s scholarship focuses on the interplay between religion and culture in the United States. He has special interest in Latino religions, African-American religions, North American religious history, immigration and justice, and congregational studies. He is the author of several books and articles on these subjects, including ¡Santo! Varieties of Latina/Spirituality (Orbis Books, 2012) and Latina/o Protestantism: Perspectives on Evangélico/a, Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Mainline in the United States (Baylor University Press, forthcoming in 2016).

• The Rev. David C. Hester, seminary dean from 2005-2012, died Friday, May 8 following complications from an illness.

Hester served Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary with distinction in many capacities, including his service as dean and most recently as the Harrison Ray Anderson Professor of Pastoral Theology, Professor of Christian Education and Director of our Doctor of Ministry & Continuing Education programs. Hester was to retire at the end of June after 29 years of service at Louisville Seminary.

McCormick Theological Seminary – Chicago, Ill.

• The Rev. Steed Vernyl Davidson, the incoming Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible has a presence that is already being felt in Hyde Park. Joining the McCormick Theological Seminary faculty in July of 2015, Davidson was the featured Zenos lecturer speaking on "Empires of Violence, Cities of Peace." The Zenos Lectures honor the memory of Andrew C. Zenos, Professor of Bible and Ecclesiastical History and Dean of McCormick for more than 40 years, retiring in 1934.

Davidson comes to McCormick from the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., where he was an associate professor of Old Testament. Davidson is an ordained clergyperson within the United Methodist Church.

Davidson is the author of Empire and Exile: Postcolonial Readings of Selected Texts of the Book of Jeremiah and a co-editor of the forthcoming book, Islands, Islanders and the Bible: RumiNations. He has authored various essays that explore the Hebrew Bible from postcolonial and gendered perspectives. He has given presentations many prestigious conferences and academic societies, including the Hein-Fry Lecture Series in Tacoma, Washington, as well as the Sarah Ann Gill Memorial Lecture in Barbados.

Davidson, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Union Theological Seminary in New York. He received a S.T.M. from Boston University, a M.A. from the University of the West Indies, a Diploma of Ministerial Studies from the United Theological College of theWest Indies, and a B.A. from the University of the West Indies.

Princeton Theological Seminary – Princeton, N.J.

• One hundred fifty-six students were awarded 169 degrees at Princeton Theological Seminary’s 203nd commencement on May 23. Students received their Master of Arts, Master of Arts (Theological Studies), Master of Divinity and Master of Arts, Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees during the ceremony. Graduates’ friends and family members filled the Princeton University Chapel and joined in the celebration.

In his commencement address to the students, President M. Craig Barnes advised the graduates that although their ministries may not turn out as they expect, their task is to discern the gifts of grace that God provides to them each and every day.

• Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Art Gallery is pleased to present The Colored Threads of Dreams, Tapestries by Armando Sosa, a solo exhibition of brilliantly colored hand-woven tapestries and other textiles with themes and images of Guatemala, where Sosa grew up. The exhibition debut and artist reception is scheduled for Thursday, June 4 from 5:30–8:00 p.m.

Sosa employs symbols and images in his tapestries that derive from dreams and memories of traditional icons and figures, both religious and secular, some inspired by his native Maya or pre-Columbian heritage, others to actual memory of a Central American childhood. “Through my weaving, I am working to express my dreams, my memories, the overlapping cultural influences of my life in the United States, and my aspirations for the future,” he says. “The traditional elements repeated in different forms throughout my textiles are a means of connecting with, celebrating, and preserving the rich and fascinating Guatemalan culture of my childhood.”

• Princeton Theological Seminary announced that for the first time in the school's history, three PhD candidates, Mark Dixon, Alyssa Evans, and Philip Forness, are the recipients of Fulbright Scholarships for the 2015–2016 academic year.

“This year all three of our nominees succeeded, which is a first for our Seminary,” said James Charlesworth, professor of New Testament language and literature and chairman of the Seminary’s Fulbright Program. “Each is a PhD candidate and is going to continue advanced research in Germany.”

Dixon will research manuscripts related to Peter Böhler’s 1738 mission to Africans enslaved in South Carolina. He will spend most of his time in Halle, Germany, where he will study in the Francke Foundations archives.

Evans is heading to the University of Göttingen. She will work with leading scholars in Reformation studies on the first critical edition of Andreas Karlstadt’s letters and works, and will translate and publish several of his writings into English for the first time.

At the University of Munich, Forness will research Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic languages and cultures in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. His project will focus on Thomas the Apostle.

• Jürgen Moltmann, one of the foremost religious thinkers in the world and a longtime friend of Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth, will present the opening lecture of the 2015 Annual Karl Barth Conference Sunday evening, June 21, 2015.

Moltmann is professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen in Germany and contributed many books to the field of theology, including Theology of Hope (Fortress Press, 1993), The Crucified God (Fortress Press, 1993), and The Trinity and the Kingdom of God (Fortress Press, 1993).

Moltmann will present his lecture at 7:30 pm in Miller Chapel on the Princeton Seminary campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The theme of this year’s conference, which runs through June 24, is “Karl Barth and the Gospels: Interpreting Gospel Texts.” Taking place on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary and organized by the Seminary’s Center for Barth Studies, the conference welcomes several renowned speakers, including Richard Bauckham, Karlfried Froehlich, Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Eric Gregory, Willie Jennings, Paul Dafydd Jones, Bruce L. McCormack, Daniel L. Migliore, and Fleming Rutledge. For the complete list and biographies of the speakers, visit www.ptsem.edu/barthconference.